Family mourns father, 85, killed when wheelchair topples

Wednesday

Jul 30, 2014 at 5:06 PM

By Scott J. Croteau TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — As police sort out how a wheelchair flipped inside a transport van, killing 85-year-old Stuart J. Merchant Sr. of Millbury, the victim's family is saying this is not the first time he was injured inside the same company's medical van.

Mr. Merchant died shortly after midnight Tuesday from injuries sustained in the incident Monday afternoon on Orient Street. Accident investigators are reviewing the medical van in which Mr. Merchant was riding.

According to Mr. Merchant's son, Stuart J. Merchant Jr., this is the second time his father was injured in a van owned and operated by Worcester-based Safeway Luxury Transportation.

The younger Mr. Merchant said his father's wheelchair wasn't secured a few months ago, leading to a head laceration.

"We never got any outcome on that one," Mr. Merchant's son said. "If there is a problem, something should be corrected. They are entrusted with people's safety. The chair should have been secured."

In response to a reporter's request to Safeway Luxury Transportation for a comment on the recent incident and allegation of a past incident involving injuries to Mr. Merchant, the company's lawyer, James J. Gribouski, sent a statement in an email.

It read: "Although Safeway is unable to comment at this time about this tragic accident as they are both conducting their own internal investigation as well as cooperating completely with the police investigation, they would like to extend their condolences to the Merchant family.

"Safeway safely transports over 100,000 clients a year and has an excellent safety record of which they are very proud. Safety is their No. 1 concern. The training of their employees and the condition of their equipment exceeds industry standards."

According to police, around 3:45 p.m. Monday, the 70-year-old driver of the medical van, who authorities have not publicly identified, called police to report an elderly man in a wheelchair inside the van had flipped backwards. The driver told police the man was unresponsive.

The driver told investigators that shortly before the incident he had picked up three elderly patients from St. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Plantation Street. Minutes later, after driving off, the driver told investigators, he looked to the back of the van and noticed Mr. Merchant's toppled wheelchair.

Officers met up with the van on Orient Street.

The van is being inspected by police. Investigators will review procedures regarding how the wheelchair was secured for transport.

The younger Mr. Merchant, 68, of Spencer, said he was told his father was in the van and his head had become forced down somehow. The family was told Mr. Merchant cracked vertebrae. He was placed on lifesaving devices at UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester.

The victim's oldest daughter, one of five children, said she is now concentrating on the funeral and memorial service for her father. She wants to know what happened Monday but acknowledges that police need time to do their work.

Josephine F. Cummings, 62, of Rutland said her father had Alzheimer's disease and often took a medical van to and from St. Francis, where he spent time during daytime hours three days a week. He lived with one of his daughters, Susan L. Wians, in Millbury.

Mrs. Cummings was with her father late Monday in the hospital. She told him it was time to join his wife, Gloria M. Merchant, who died in 1974.

"I said 'Go with Ma. You go with Ma.' I just sat there and prayed that God would take him," Mrs. Cummings said Wednesday. "I've heard people say to tell people it is OK to go. That's what I was saying to him."

Mr. Merchant had his son at 16. He quit high school and went to work as a truck driver, first hauling coal, then oil. He retired from Red Star Express, and before that worked at Consolidated Beverage and P.S. Dubrey Trucking.

"At 16 years old he became a man," Stuart J. Merchant Jr. said. "He did his job and made sure his family was well taken care of."

Mr. Merchant had to have one of his legs amputated two years ago because of circulation issues.

"His body was in good health, it was just his mind," Mrs. Cummings said. "He was as healthy as a horse and still had a good appetite."

She recalled baking a marble birthday cake for her father in May. Her older brother brought it to him at St. Francis.

Mr. Merchant was handy with tools. He built a playroom for his children and was the backyard mechanic for his children's cars. He was also very active at the former Westboro Speedway.

"He could turn a wrench. My father could work on cars," Mrs. Cummings said. "He was very handy with fixing stuff in the house."